Loaded Twice-Baked Potatoes

Loaded Twice-Baked Potatoes

53 Reviews

From: EatingWell Magazine, February/March 2006

Potatoes are one of the great comfort foods, especially when stuffed with a satisfying mixture of lean ground beef and broccoli florets plus reduced-fat sour cream and Cheddar cheese. Add a tossed salad and you have a healthy and hearty meal that will leave you feeling good.

Preparation

Active

30 m

Ready In

40 m

Pierce potatoes all over with a fork. Place in the microwave and cook on Medium, turning once or twice, until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. (Or use the "potato setting" on your microwave and cook according to the manufacturer's directions.)

Meanwhile, brown meat in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Increase heat to high, add broccoli and water to the pan, cover, and cook until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain the broccoli; add to the meat.

Carefully cut off the top third of the cooked potatoes; reserve the tops for another use. Scoop out the insides into a medium bowl. Place the potato shells in a small baking dish. Add ½ cup Cheddar, sour cream, salt and pepper to the potato insides and mash with a fork or potato masher. Add scallions and the potato mixture to the broccoli and meat; stir to combine.

Evenly divide the potato mixture among the potato shells and top with the remaining ½ cup cheese. Microwave on High until the filling is hot and the cheese is melted, 2 to 4 minutes.

Make Ahead Tip: Prepare and stuff potatoes. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Microwave and serve.

Vegetarian variation: Replace the ground beef with a soy-based substitute or omit the beef altogether and increase the broccoli to 1½ cups and the cheese to 1¼ cups.

No microwave? No problem: Preheat oven to 400°F. Pierce potatoes in several places with a fork. Bake directly on the center rack until tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Fill the potato as directed and bake the stuffed potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet until the filling is hot, about 15 minutes.

Reviews 53

I've made this recipe twice now. Followed exactly as written. It's the only thing my picky eater kids request. We all love it.

February 27, 2017

By: Sunshine

These are absolutely delicious. Not sure why but the filling was waaay too much to put back in the potatoes; I only needed about half of it, but I also didn't pile it up to the sky. (Will be using the rest to make homemade perogies, yummm!)
Changes: I seasoned the ground beef with Weber Chicago Steak (about 1/2 tbsp), used 1/4c each lite and regular sour cream, rubbed the potato with olive oil and sprinkled with salt & pepper and baked them to get a nice crispy skin. I also added about 1/3c sauteed mushrooms, because mushrooms.
Pros: easy, crowd pleasing comfort food
Cons: I weighed the potatoes to get 4 as close in size as possible, with each at about 205g the recipe does work out to about 490 cals per serving (using my changes), however its much less since I used only half of the filling so 245 cals. It would be helpful if the recipe states the grams/ounces of potato they used considering this greatly affects the nutrition content.

April 06, 2016

By: EatingWell User

Do not cook
Don't be deceived by the picture. To improve add cayenne pepper and vitamin C. But make sure you leave in the oven too long so you have to throw it away.
Pros: None
Cons: Everything

March 17, 2016

By: EatingWell User

Deceptive
I thought this would be great for dinner. It looks like it fits into my calorie and macro requirements. I thought I would have to eat pretty light on my carbs the rest of the day, but it seemed doable. Then I added the recipe ingredients into 2 different calorie tracking sites and the ACTUAL calories for this dish is well over 400 calories vs. the 274 calories the recipe states. It is really disappointing. I guess my poor review is as much for this grossly inaccurate website as it is for the recipe.
Pros: Looks delicious
Cons: NOT as low calorie as advertised

October 12, 2012

By: EatingWell User

even my picky kids loved these!
I love this recipe, i changed sour creme for ranch dressing. left out the meat cause 2 of the kids won't eat meat..called them veggie stuffed potatoes. huge hit!
Pros: easy and easy to modify

October 05, 2012

By: EatingWell User

try baking & brush the skins with olive oil/vegetable oil
Actually, I bake these (twice), or use extra day-old baked potatoes. For the second baking I brush the skins with olive oil to make them crispy.

October 05, 2012

By: EatingWell User

awesome recipe, love it! reminds me of fonzie fries
I make a similar recipe, I leave out the meat & eat the meat on the side.
A diner in our town serves a similar dish, it is a 60s style diner with jukebox, elvis marilyn monroe pics etc.....
The dish is called fonzie's fries, it is a plate of fresh cut fries topped with cooked ground beef&onions, topped again with chopped peppers, then, cheese curds and finally gravy! It is a doctored version of the canadian poutine, very filling and delicious, no desert needed thanks!

October 05, 2012

By: EatingWell User

love these!
I make a version of these but don't use meat, they are awesome! I eat with roasted meat and carrots, corn etc...
A filiing dish, similar to these, is served at a local restaurant, 60s diner style with juke box, elvis&marilyn munroe pics etc.....the dish is called Fonzie's Fries, it's a large plate of fries topped with ground beef&onions&chopped bell peppers, topped next with cheese curds, or mozza, & gravy, it's a doctored version of our Canadian poutine, an entire meal really! Delicious. No desert needed thanks!

October 01, 2012

By: EatingWell User

Good Survival Food
I made these last night with some changes. First, I baked the potatoes in the oven for 45 minutes, because whenever I microwave potatoes they get a dry, tough skin, and I wanted them to be nice and crispy. Second, I'm lactose intolerant, so instead of sour cream I flavored them with minced garlic, onion powder, and chicken broth for moisture. They were pretty good, but not spectacular. My SO said they made good survival food--an option to remember when you're snowed in and all you have is a sack of potatoes and a pound of ground beef and frozen veggies in the freezer (or a bottle of bacon bits, if you're really unprepared). Since this recipe can be made with simple staples that keep well, I'll file it away for the long stretch between December and March, when it's tough to get to the grocery store.